Taco Tuesday

You know the routine: It's Tuesday, time for another Taco Tuesday. Today's yummy offerings include Baja Pork Tacos and Delicious Vegan Battered ‘Fish’ Tacos. Enjoy!

CARNITAS MINI TACO BOWLS

This is from Old El Paso, and begins, "This Carnitas Mini Taco Bowl recipe brings warm, spicy flavor with a hassle-free approach. Simmer pulled pork in Old El Paso™ Original Taco Seasoning, then serve up in our Old El Paso™ Soft Mini Tortilla Bowls with queso fresco cheese, and then spice it up with jalapeño chiles and radish slices. Easy to make, and customizable to anyone's taste, these mini pulled pork taco bowls make any taco night delicious."

Prep Time: 40 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes; Makes 12 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/mini-carnitas-taco-bowls.

Ingredient

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso™ original taco seasoning mix

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

3- to 4-lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed, cut in 2- to 3-inch pieces

2 cups chopped yellow onions

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 cups water

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 packages (5.1 oz each) Old El Paso™ soft tortilla mini bowls, heated as directed on package

1 1/2 cups crumbled queso fresco

1 cup sliced radishes

2 medium jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced

Lime wedges

Preparation

In large bowl, mix vegetable oil, taco seasoning mix, cumin, coriander and salt. Add pork, and toss to coat; pour into 5-quart Dutch oven. Place onions and garlic on top of pork. Add water, orange juice and lime juice. Heat to boiling over high heat. Stir; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender.

Increase heat to medium; cook 3 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently and pressing on pork with spatula to shred meat, until sauce thickens and pork is coated in cooking liquid.

Divide pork mixture among heated mini bowls; top with queso fresco, radishes and jalapeño chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

Expert Tips

Remove as much fat as possible from the pork to avoid a fatty sauce.

DELICIOUS VEGAN BATTERED 'FISH' TACOS

This comes from PETA. Makes 6 tacos.

To view this online, go to https://www.peta.org/recipes/fish-tacos/.

Ingredients

1 pkg. Gardein fishless filets

1 tsp. oil or lime juice

6 medium-sized corn tortillas

1/2 cup guacamole or 1 avocado, sliced

Diced onion (optional)

Chopped cilantro (optional)

Jalapeño slices (optional)

Lime juice (optional)

Instructions

Cook the fishless filets according to package directions.

Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan and cook, turning once, until softened.

Remove from the pan and spread with 1 tablespoonful of the guacamole.

Cut the cooked fishless filets into strips and place 3 strips on the tortilla. If desired, top with diced onion, chopped cilantro, and jalapeño slices and drizzle with lime juice.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Serve with salsa, vegan sour cream, or vegan tartar sauce.

BEEF ENCHILADA MINI TACO BOWLS™

This comes from Old El Paso, and begins, "Love enchiladas but don’t like all the rolling and stuffing? Try these easy green chile beef enchilada-filled mini bowls -- all the flavor in a pick-up version!"

Prep Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Makes 10 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/beef-enchilada-mini-taco-bowls.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, melted

10 Old El Paso™ Taco Bowls™ mini soft flour tortillas (1 sleeve from Party Pack)

1/2 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso™ enchilada sauce

1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz)

3 tablespoons sliced green onions

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Brush melted butter on all sides of bowls; place in 3-quart baking dish. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until brown and firm to the touch. Bowls will crisp slightly as they cool.

Meanwhile, in 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Reserve 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir remaining enchilada sauce and green chiles into beef mixture; return to heat. Simmer mixture, uncovered, over medium heat 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened.

Spoon filling into bowls; top with shredded cheese, and drizzle with remaining enchilada sauce. Bake 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with green onions.

Expert Tips

Got a crowd to feed? This recipe is easily doubled to fill the full Party Pack of bowls. Use a 12-inch nonstick skillet, 2 baking dishes and double everything.

Want more spice? Try medium or hot enchilada sauce.

POTATO TACOS

Potato Tacos? Sure, why not? This comes from Vegetarian Times, and begins, "These tasty tacos are spicy! Feel free to reduce the amount of chipotle if you prefer milder flavor." Serves 2.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 small red bell pepper, diced

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 medium potato, baked and diced

1 to 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

2 whole wheat tortillas, warmed

Instructions:

In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring often, until almost tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add chipotle, cumin and oregano and stir 30 seconds. Add potato, toss well to coat and heat through. Stir in lemon juice and cilantro and remove from heat. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

BAJA PORK TACOS

This is from Ariella Winn, from Mesquite, Texas, on Taste of Home. She wrote, "This delicious pork tacos recipe is my copycat version of the most excellent Mexican food we ever had, when we were visiting Flagstaff, Arizona. The original recipe used beef instead of pork, but this comes mighty close to the same taste."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 8 hours; Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes; Makes 12 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/baja-pork-tacos/.

Ingredients

1 boneless pork sirloin roast (3 pounds)

5 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chiles

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning

3 teaspoons ground cumin

24 corn tortillas (6 inches), warmed

3 cups shredded lettuce

1-1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Cut roast in half; place in a 3- or 4-qt. slow cooker. Mix chiles, taco seasoning and cumin; spoon over pork. Cook, covered, on low 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove pork; cool slightly. Skim fat from cooking juices. Shred meat with 2 forks. Return to slow cooker; heat through. Serve in tortillas with lettuce and cheese.

Freeze option: Place cooled pork mixture in freezer containers; freeze up to 3 months. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, stirring gently and adding a little broth if necessary.

Health tip: Using reduced-sodium taco seasoning saves about 80 milligrams of sodium in each serving.

Nutrition Facts: 2 tacos: 320 calories, 11g fat (4g saturated fat), 77mg cholesterol, 434mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 4g fiber), 30g protein. Diabetic exchanges: 3 medium-fat meat, 2 starch.

SPINACH, SHRIMP AND RICOTTA TACOS

This is from Priscilla Gilbert, from Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, on Taste of Home. She wrote, "I was looking for a new recipe for tacos, and this version was a perfect solution. With shrimp, green chiles, spinach and ricotta, it's made up of ingredients I love that aren't normally associated with traditional tacos."

Prep/Total Time: 30 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spinach-shrimp-and-ricotta-tacos/.

Ingredients

1 carton (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

4 garlic cloves, minced, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound uncooked shrimp (31-40 per pound), peeled and deveined

2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chiles

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

10 ounces fresh baby spinach (about 12 cups)

12 corn tortillas (6 inches), warmed

Salsa and lime wedges

Directions

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, cilantro, half the minced garlic, salt and pepper; set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add shrimp, green chiles and pepper flakes; cook 1 minute longer. Add spinach and remaining garlic; cook and stir until shrimp turn pink and spinach is wilted, 4-5 minutes.

Serve shrimp mixture in tortillas with ricotta mixture, salsa and lime wedges.

Test Kitchen tip

If you happen to have any leftover shrimp, serve it over hot cooked pasta, polenta or quinoa. A little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese won't hurt, either.

Nutrition Facts: 2 tacos: 317 calories, 11g fat (4g saturated fat), 114mg cholesterol, 468mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 5g fiber), 25g protein. Diabetic exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat.